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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28524342">Serendipity</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobachka/pseuds/sobachka'>sobachka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Zoyalai Works [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>&lt;3, F/M, also zoya teaching the children for a bit, and nikolai wanting to make zoya happy, canonverse, cuz thats cute, just the gang being cute, no pain i promise, post kos, shes mean but its still cute</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:48:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28524342</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobachka/pseuds/sobachka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nikolai steals Zoya away to show her a surprise project he's been working on- oh and its her birthday and the gang is there &lt;3</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Zoyalai Works [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789732</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Serendipity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was something charming about the palace gardens during the day.</p><p>Nikolai recalled as much from his childhood- this was the place he and Dominik snuck off to when the parties were too loud or Vasya and his friends had stolen a bottle and the drink had opened their eyes to all the ways they could hurt two young boys. </p><p>He wondered if that made this a sad place. It didn’t <em> feel </em>sad, though the clench in Nikolai’s chest suggested otherwise. </p><p>Whatever it was, it no longer belonged to two clever little boys. As if on cue, voices rose from beyond the trees. Nikolai ducked beneath a particularly low branch before stepping out into the field beside the lake, where a group of students were gathered around two forms at the edge of the water.</p><p>A young Suli girl in a blue kefta with pale embroidered cuffs had both hands raised over the lake, palms open as if beckoning the water to come. She was standing at least a foot away from the surface, on her tiptoes as if the added height might give her more power over the water. Beside her, Zoya was frowning. She hadn’t noticed him yet, and Nikolai paused to watch the learning session.</p><p>The girl’s face scrunched up, her hands shaking with some unseen effort. The lake remained unphased. </p><p>“<em> Anaya </em>,” Zoya’s tone was sharp. And the girl’s cheeks pinked further at her name, brows furrowing as she struggled with it for a moment. All the children had turned their attention to the water’s surface, and after a brief struggle, a single ripple formed beneath her spread palms.</p><p>The girl pulled back, gasping, and grinned. One of the children hooted.</p><p>“Don’t look so pleased, that could very well have been the wind.” Zoya’s sharp voice cut through the crowd. <em> Ouch </em>, thought Nikolai. He’d been rather impressed as well, but then Nikolai would never have the affinity for summoning of any kind, so that wasn't unexpected. </p><p>The girl’s face fell, “but I did everything right!” she protested.</p><p>“Clearly not,” said Zoya. She moved to stand closer to the water and glanced at it before returning her attention to the girl, studying her for a moment. “You fear the water.”</p><p>A few chuckles came from the students, and the girl dipped her head in shame. </p><p>“No partnership can be built on fear, Anaya. So long as you believe the water is your enemy, it will never be your friend.”</p><p>One of the students snorted, and Zoya’s sharp eyes found him in seconds.</p><p>“Something to say, Varlaam?” she asked with a raised brow. Nikolai was genuinely surprised when the boy responded. The look Zoya fixed him with could have crippled armies.</p><p>“Sorry Ms Nazyalensky, but we aren’t <em> partnering </em> with our abilities, we’re <em> commanding </em>them.” he corrected her, a cocky grin turning his lips. </p><p>“I’m sure you <em> commanded </em>the fire to burn your arm and land you in the infirmary for a week, yes?” </p><p>The boy’s face turned red and he scowled, stepping back as the children around him began laughing. Nikolai noticed for the first time that his blue kefta was embroidered with red. In fact, more reds and purples dotted the crowd of students, as well. </p><p>Grisha, but no longer separated by order. </p><p>“Power isn’t about command, it’s about partnership. Shared trust. Knowing that the other has your back as much as you do theirs,” Zoya was saying, her eyes traveling over each of the students in turn before settling on Nikolai. “Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”</p><p>The students startled, some gasping as they spun around to see Nikolai. An amused smile tilted his lips. She hadn’t glanced up once since he’d arrived, but Nikolai had no doubt that she’d known he was there from the start. </p><p>He folded his hands behind his back, and addressed the students. “Certainly, but do keep in mind that being the one in charge sometimes has its perks. Such as now, when I tell you all to go back to your dorms and have cake. Do we have cake? I’ll ask the chef to make cake- something with almonds.”</p><p>A few of the students hooted, scattering off already, but Zoya remained unimpressed. </p><p>“Says who?”</p><p>“The King,” Nikolai replied, before indicating the crown sitting on his head, whispering, “that’s me!”</p><p>Zoya rolled her eyes, but the little girl beside her laughed. Nikolai noticed that it was the same one who’d struggled to create a ripple and smiled at her.</p><p>“Anaya! I thought your performance was very impressive,” he said, watching her eyes go wide. “Go on now, you’ll continue on tomorrow.”</p><p>He watched her catch up to her friends, a grin on her face, and smiled to himself.</p><p>“Why did you say that? Now she’ll spend another week behind the rest of the class.”</p><p>“She deserved a little encouragement,” Nikolai said.</p><p>“From an <em> Otkazat’sya </em>?” Zoya snorted, earning a glare from Nikolai. “What are you doing here anyway? I assume it's important, since you just dismissed my class.” she crossed her arms and raised a brow at him.</p><p>Nikolai tried not to notice the way her hair was falling out of its braid, but the loose strands seemed to call to him, and he had to fight the urge to reach over and tuck them away. </p><p>He shrugged, “I thought you might like to have the evening off,” he said, wincing at his lack of a creative excuse. </p><p>Genya would kill him if she knew.</p><p>She frowned, “why would I…” then realization dawned on her face, and her glare was back, full force, only this time it was aimed at Nikolai. “Genya put you up to this! Oh, for Saints’ sake Nikolai, I told you-”</p><p>“-not to do anything for your birthday, yes I heard.” he paused, “but this is completely unrelated, I promise you.”</p><p>She eyed him doubtfully, “what exactly is <em> it </em>?”</p><p>Now, Nikolai couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over his face, “a surprise.”</p>
<hr/><p>Zoya let her curiosity get the best of her, a mistake she only seemed to make with Nikolai. </p><p>She tried to summon her usual irritation and snark, but Nikolai was grinning like a boy about to show off his new toy. It was a contagious sort of excitement that had her heart racing for unknown reasons.</p><p>“-it’s something David and I have been trying to perfect for months. Well, years, more like, but the focus on it tripled since…” his gaze slid to a maid crossing the hall and his voice lowered, even as he threw a smile her way, “well, you know since when.”</p><p><em> Since the Darkling returned and wreaked havoc on our door? </em> As though she could forget.</p><p>A bit of her enthusiasm dampened with the reminder. He was still chained up in a holding cell, guards around every day, and either Zoya or Nikolai coming to check his bonds once a day. Still, his presence was unnerving, and she could almost feel it seeping into her happiness every day, tainting her world. </p><p><em> You don’t get to take my family away </em> , she thought, <em> not again </em>.</p><p>Zoya was so lost in her own thoughts that when Nikolai stopped in front of her, she walked right into him. </p><p>He raised a brow, hazel eyes still dancing with the secret of whatever lay beyond the door. </p><p>“Before you enter, you should know that while it wasn’t intended for your birthday, this might <em> feel </em>like a bit of a celebration. Entirely coincidence, I promise.”</p><p>“Coincidence?” she deadpanned. </p><p>Nikolai grinned, “serendipity.”</p><p>She shook her head, pushing past him to the door. They were near the labs, and she could hear a faint sound of something playing- a record? She frowned, pushing it open.</p><p>Zoya wasn’t sure what she expected, but this was not it. The lights had been switched off, curtains shut. Someone shouted “surprise!”- Genya?, a second voice hushed her. Zoya could hardly see. Then a switch flicked on and a rectangle of light appeared on the wall, causing Zoya to frown.</p><p>She could now make out the blankets someone had spread on the floor of the empty guest room, and the forms of her friends in the dim light- Genya and David huddled together, Tamar with her head on Nadiya’s lap. And Tolya, who was sitting behind a large box-like contraption pouring light out onto the empty wall. </p><p>Nikolai closed the door behind her, and Genya patted the place beside her excitedly. </p><p>“Look- see that?” Nikolai indicated the box. “It’s a sort of record player- records from the Wandering Isle, they’ve got plays, performed on stage, and with a little bit of effort from David, and the wonderful Nadiya we managed to-”</p><p>“Nikolai <em> shut up and sit! </em>”</p><p>Zoya startled at Genya’s voice, raising a brow. She couldn’t help the smile growing on her face as her eyes returned to the wall which was now playing a series of moving pictures- people on a stage, leather masks over some of their faces. She didn’t tear her gaze away as she settled beside Genya on the blankets, leaving room for a scowling Nikolai to sit at her right.</p><p>He shifted beside her as the pictures began to play, and it took a minute for Zoya to realize he was watching her reaction.</p><p>A small smile touched her lips, her gaze settling on him for a moment- eyes lit up with excitement, a grin on his face, hair slightly mussed. </p><p>She leaned in closer as sound filtered in from some unknown source and whispered to Nikolai, “not such a bad coincidence, then.”</p><p>His grin amplified, and he beamed like a proud child. </p><p>Genya shushed them, but the light allowed Zoya to make out the last word Nikolai mouthed.</p><p><em> Serendipity </em>.</p><p>She rolled her eyes, shifting a bit closer to him and smacking his shoulder. Nikolai only laughed, causing both Tamar and Genya to spin back and shush him. </p><p>Zoya hid a smile. She thought of her promise earlier, about not losing a second family. How was it that these people had once been strangers to her? And yet now she couldn’t picture a happy day spent without them. The woman who gave birth to her was absent, and Zoya felt no remorse towards that.</p><p><em> If Liliyana and Lada were here </em> , she thought with a pang, <em> it would have been perfect. </em></p><p>She let her eyes focus entirely on the moving pictures, but her mind turned up name after name, <em> and Alina, and Mal, and Harshaw, and Sergei, and- </em></p><p>A brush against her arm jolted her back to the present. Zoya looked over to see Nikolai, eyes on the screen, a frown overtaking his face. Of course he’d known what was on her mind, had likely thought the same thing.</p><p>Nikolai had said he’d been working on a project since the Darkling’s return, and Zoya thought perhaps it was a weapon. But this was <em> Nikolai </em>, and he had developed something for his friends to relax, for the people he loved to take some time off and enjoy themselves, a little less stress and a few more smiles.</p><p>Her heart did something strange in her chest.</p><p>Without saying a word, Zoya let her fingers lace with Nikolai’s, squeezing once. </p><p>Maybe he was right about that, maybe some coincidences were good ones.</p>
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